Welcome

Welcome to the POZ Community Forums, a round-the-clock discussion area for people with HIV/AIDS, their friends/family/caregivers, and
others concerned about HIV/AIDS. Click on the links below to browse our various forums; scroll down for a glance at the most recent posts; or join in the
conversation yourself by registering on the left side of this page.

Privacy Warning: Please realize that these forums are open to all, and are fully searchable via Google and other search engines. If you are HIV positive
and disclose this in our forums, then it is almost the same thing as telling the whole world (or at least the World Wide Web). If this concerns you, then do not use a
username or avatar that are self-identifying in any way. We do not allow the deletion of anything you post in these forums, so think before you post.

The information shared in these forums, by moderators and members, is designed to complement, not replace, the relationship between an individual and his/her own
physician.

All members of these forums are, by default, not considered to be licensed medical providers. If otherwise, users must clearly define themselves as such.

Forums members must behave at all times with respect and honesty. Posting guidelines, including time-out and banning policies, have been established by the moderators
of these forums. Click here for “Am I Infected?” posting guidelines. Click here for posting guidelines pertaining to all other POZ community forums.

We ask all forums members to provide references for health/medical/scientific information they provide, when it is not a personal experience being discussed. Please
provide hyperlinks with full URLs or full citations of published works not available via the Internet. Additionally, all forums members must post information which are
true and correct to their knowledge.

Author
Topic: Good old Silicone Facial Fillers (Read 9965 times)

Hello Ladies and Gentlemen,Three years ago I went to the DMV to renew my Drivers License; they took the picture and said that I would receive the DL in the mail. Upon receiving the DL I looked at the picture and was horrified. My face looked so skeletal with sunken cheeks; I never realized how badly the lipodystrophy had removed my facial fat. My friend Steven was exposed to the same problem and he had gone to a doctor to have his face corrected with temporary filler that was of a natural source.

I mentioned my desire to get this done to another friend, that was quite amused at the idea, and he revealed to me that he had had his face done with silicone and it was permanent not temporary. I couldnít believe how normal his face looked without knowing that he had it done. I even felt his cheeks and they felt quite normal. I made an appointment immediately with his Doctor.

At the appointment I questioned his doctor on several topics in relation to silicone toxicity and bodily rejection and he assured me that the only problem would be bodily rejection as the silicone was implanted in multiple very small amounts unlike a large breast implant therefore their would only be a very small rejection as the small implants would not cause any toxicity. He also informed me that the silicone was injected directly into your face, and after the first set of implants were undertaken after one month your answer to facial rejection would be well known as if rejected they would be visible through redness as the body would on itís own reject the silicone and flush it out.

So I said letís go for it. He told me that if I so desired he would he would apply an anesthetic but his preference was no anesthetic because he would prefer to see the instant facial reactions, and because I am a diabetic I am quite use to small needles so I told him okay no problem. He then told me it would take four to six monthly appointments with applications of 20 to 50 injections in each cheek per appointment and the cost was $350 per visit. I said ďLetís juice Ďem upĒ

After the fourth appointment he showed me picture of my face before we started and I was so overjoyed at my fuller looking face. He told me that it was my call for either another session or to stay with this look. Honestly I could have used a fuller look but I personally found I looked better with a slightly sunken look, much like a body builderís face. That was almost three years ago and my face has not changed at all with no rejection problems to date, but now at the top of my head the lipodystrophy is now starting to implement railroad tracks. Therefore I will be going back to him, and I would highly recommend him to anyone. He is highly professional and answers all your questions up front. As stated below, be smart and be strong. Therefore pick yourself up and dust yourself off and move on. Itís a virus that you can control, unlike a cold virus that you cannot control.Regards,Mark

I'm glad you found a treatment for your facial wasting that you are pleased with. There are so many of us who have seen that look when we view our reflection in the mirror and understand completely the toll it can take on a person.

Allanq:

I understand your apprehension, I think Silicone (just the word) can/is one that people naturally approach with caution.

Fortunately, there are several options available for treatment of facial wasting. Each with it's own positives and negatives.

To anyone else:

I think the most important thing for anyone considering treatment of facial wasting is to find a doctor who is experienced and knowledgeable.

Personally, I've had a lot of silicone injected in my face. 7 cc on each side. The work was done by a very well respected doctor who's reputation is known around the world. (He and his wife were pioneers in Botox) (I got lucky as it was a clinical study so the treatments didn't cost me anything.)

That was back in 2003. I've had no problems what so ever. No migration, no relapse, no rejections/infections. I couldn't be happier.

I've also recently had treatment with Artefill (the only FDA approved filler that is permanent). It takes about 6 weeks for the full affect to be achieved, so I'm not able to comment yet whether it's as good as silicone.

Either way, as I said earlier, I don't think the what is as important as the who.

Hey Allan,Dr. Brown did offer me a few choices and that's why I questioned him quite intensly, and silicone was my choice because it was permanent and not a six month filler like Botox, Sculptra and most others. If I had a choice again I'd do the same.Kind Regards,Mark

I'm curious why the doc would risk injection into the face before knowing if you're body might reject the silicone. I've been told the body doesn't simply "flush it out." It can require lots of anti-inflamatory drugs to control the rejection. Sometimes it subsides and sometimes the treatments can go on for more than a year.

Shouldn't the doc has done a small test somewhere else on the body where it wouldn't be so noticable if rejection occurred?

I'm asking because I'm still thinking about getting silicone treatments.

The problems with rejection have been with unrefined, industrial-type silicone. So far, I don't know of any problems with medical-grade silicone injected using micro-droplet technique. This procedure has been done in Europe for 20+ years, and has more recently in the United States. I've had it done myself with no problems. The results are very natural-looking, and it feels like normal skin. I don't know how it will hold up over time. My doctor says that in his experience it ages very well.

Dr. Derek Jones in Beverly Hills specializes in this. Last I checked, it cost $900 for each treatment. Expect about 2-3 treatments for each stage of lipodystropy (there are 4 stages). It was worth the money, and much cheaper than a temporary filler in the long run.

I'm glad you found a treatment for your facial wasting that you are pleased with. There are so many of us who have seen that look when we view our reflection in the mirror and understand completely the toll it can take on a person.

Allanq:

I understand your apprehension, I think Silicone (just the word) can/is one that people naturally approach with caution...

RAB

Caution? Absolutely! Sure, injected Silicone "beads" has high YUCK factor,which is one reason I looked into it. I figured something that sounded so wrong that was done thousands of times by experienced professionals might be getting a bad rap for other reasons like leaking tit jobs. Industrial Silicone, often used by prostitutes and others short on cash, was one culprit. As I posted many moons ago, I had the same treatment, called Silikone 2000 (or something dopey like that). I was happy with it. I still am. I don't recall any discussion of potential "rejection". No problems. An unpleasant 1/2 hour, couple days as a chipmunk, and then a few weeks to settle into my new "normal" face. Absolutely normal feeling. Cost under $2000 by the time we were finished. Dr. Harvey Abrams of Wilshire Aesthetics, LA, California. There are others offering the same treatment. -megasept

The product is "Silikon 1000". It is used for eye surgery, but has been used successfully for treating facial lipodystrophy.

The effect is not instantaneous. You have to wait for collegen to form around the beads of silicone -- usually about 1-2 months in-between treatments. If your doctor is good, he will inject less silicone as the desired correction is approached. This is a permanent filler, and you don't want to over-correct your face. My stage-2 lipodystrophy was treated over the course of 10 months. My face has held up, and my cheeks are just as full as they were after my last visit.

There have been more problems with PMMA, though most people seem to be happy with this treatment option. I have seen some over-correction with PMMA -- due to the fact that enormous amounts are injected in one sitting. I don't think this is the norm, and reliable and respected physicians should be able to treat you properly regardless of the treatment used.